Authors
Shaminder started off his career as a freelance journalist for a consulting and research firm. He has been a Political Strategist and Media Manager. Before joining Newschecker, he worked with various reputed media agencies like Daily Post India, PTC News.
Claim
Dr. Usama Riaz, doctor who contracted coronavirus while treating patients had left a message for all of us before he died.
Verification
With the number of cases surging across the globe, governments are leaving no stones unturned to facilitate conditions for social distancing. However, with the rise in the number of cases, there is a surge in the number of rumor-mongering messages, videos, and graphics across various social media platforms. A video is doing rounds on the various social media platforms, especially on ‘YouTube’ claiming that Dr.Usama Riaz, a 26-year-old Pakistani doctor who passed away tackling COVID-19, has left a message for all of us.
We found that several verified Twitter handles, including that of Sonam Mahajan, shared the viral video on their respective handles.
This is Dr. Usama Riaz from Pakistan. He got infected with coronavirus while treating others. This was his last video cuz he succumbed yesterday.
Please listen to his last words, “Coronavirus mazaak nahin hai.” Your safety is in your hands & not Allah’s. pic.twitter.com/phFvkmKkiz
— Sonam Mahajan (@AsYouNotWish) March 24, 2020
We also found that several social media users shared the viral video with multiple claims. Among them, a Twitter user ‘Ranveer Aulakh’ shared the video claiming that Bhilwara’s coronavirus positive patient Dr. Niyaz Sahab has sent a message to everyone.
@ABPNews #stayhome
भीलवाड़ा के कोरोना पॉजिटिव डॉ. नियाज साहब का सभी के लिए सन्देश pic.twitter.com/6uy9NQkkiv— RanveerAulakh33468 – 100%followback (@aulakh33468) March 24, 2020
Fact Check:
With the help of relevant keywords search, we found several media reports about Dr.Usama Riaz. According to these reports, Dr. Usama Riaz contracted the novel coronavirus while treating pilgrims, who recently returned from Iraq and Iran, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
However, while fact-checking the claim, we found that the video doing rounds on social media and the picture of Dr. Usama Riaz in the articles published are not the same.
During our search, we found a tweet of Nimra, one of the relatives of the patient in the viral video. Rubbishing all the claims, Nimra said, the person in the video is her uncle, and his name is Mubhasir and not Dr. Usama Riaz, and that he’s fine now.
Stop spreading wrong information he’s my uncle and his name is Mubhasir not “Dr Usama Riaz” and Alhamdullilah now he’s absolutely fine. https://t.co/wGdAAFmJuJ
— Nimra (@smokyswaggin) March 24, 2020
With the help of Facebook search, we found the Facebook Profile of Mubhasir Ahmed, where he clarified he is not Dr. Usama Riaz as claimed on social media. Here is the post by Mubhasir Ahmed.
He also posted a live video on March 22, 2020, clarifying the matter.
As we said earlier, we had found that the video doing rounds on social media and the picture of Dr. Usama Riaz in the articles are not the same. Here below is the comparison between Mubhasir Ahmed and Dr.Usama Riaz.
Conclusion
It is evident from our fact check that video doing the rounds on the various social media platforms claiming that the person in the video is Dr.Usama Riaz is misleading. He is Mubhasir Ahmed, who has been living in the United Kingdom.
Sources
- Google Search
- Media Reports
- Twitter Search
- Facebook Search
Result: Misattributed
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Authors
Shaminder started off his career as a freelance journalist for a consulting and research firm. He has been a Political Strategist and Media Manager. Before joining Newschecker, he worked with various reputed media agencies like Daily Post India, PTC News.
